1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to safety equipment of a type useful in monitoring for and detecting the presence of a dangerous gas, and taking action to protect against potential injury.
More particularly, the invention relates to a proactive system which, while adaptable for other uses, is especially suitable for detecting the presence of carbon monoxide in an environment such as in a building, alerting the occupants of the building to the presence of carbon monoxide, signaling a remote monitoring station, and automatically turning-off a furnace, space heater, hot-water heater and/or other potential sources of carbon monoxide in the building.
2. Description of Prior Art
Carbon monoxide is hazardous to a person's health. When breathed, carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the bloodstream. Mild carbon monoxide poisoning results in flu-like symptoms, while more serious poisoning leads to difficulty in breathing and even death via suffocation.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is believed to be the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in the United States. On the average, approximately 5,000 deaths occur, and over 20,000 illnesses result each year from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas that is a by-product of the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. This makes it difficult for an individual to recognize the presence of excessive carbon monoxide.
In the home, heating and cooking equipment are common potential sources of carbon monoxide. Motor vehicles also produce carbon monoxide that can reach dangerous levels when left running in a closed or poorly ventilated garage, and can infiltrate into a home from an attached garage.
Current carbon monoxide detectors typically monitor carbon monoxide levels in one of three processes. The first process is based on electrochemical technology that uses three platinum electrodes in an electrolyte solution that generate energy when they react with the carbon monoxide, thereby setting off the alarm. The second process uses metal oxide semiconductor technology that is heated every few minutes to react with carbon monoxide and determine levels of that gas. However, this type of device requires more power than the other technologies, and thus is more expensive to operate and has a shorter life when operating on batteries. The third process uses bio-mimetic technology that is designed to mimic the hemoglobin response to carbon monoxide, which is to change to a darker color as the level of carbon monoxide increases.
These conventional detectors are provided with an internal audible alarm that sounds when the presence of carbon monoxide is detected, similar to common household fire and smoke detectors, with the intention of alerting occupants of a building to enable evacuation and/or take other corrective measures as appropriate.
However, such audible alarms can be ineffective. For example, where the detector is located remote from living spaces such as in a basement near a furnace, the alarm can be muffled, or otherwise not heard by occupants such as when sleeping. Such conventional detectors are also purely passive devices. They do not take active steps to eliminate the source of the carbon monoxide, and thus permit the continuing build-up of carbon monoxide after detection until safety personnel can arrive. Thus, there is a need for a new and improved monitoring and protection system that addresses the drawbacks and disadvantages of such prior passive devices.